The Sorcerer's Quest (12 page)
“
That is what worries me; there is nothing there.
It feels like a trap. There is a wooden fence around the garden, but it is
unlocked. I managed to peer into the garden and there was nothing threatening,
just some rose bushes and wild flowers
.”
“Maybe he just isn’t expecting anyone to be foolish
enough to try to infiltrate his home. Besides, he’s a wizard, not a sorcerer,
so I wouldn’t expect him to have the traps that sorcerers set. Give me a
reasonable amount of time and then go in the front. I’ll do my thing as long as
I’m alive to do it. If nothing happens, just leave as if everything was
normal.”
Bralyn nodded, but Merlin still looked very worried.
“
Ayden, I need to tell you what the seer told me
,” the wolf said.
I considered the sun, which was getting low in the
sky. “Is it really that important? Can’t it wait?”
He looked even more worried, so I left before he
could argue.
I made my way through the trees, keeping a safe
distance away from the castle and the stone wall around it. I knew I could get
over the wall, but I had no idea what wards there were. Eventually, I reached
the back of the castle and found a wooden gate. Since it was the only one I
saw, I figured it was the garden gate, so I opened it. And I gaped at what I
saw beyond.
It was the gate to the garden, but the garden was not
as Merlin described. The “rose bushes” were huge hedges far taller than me with
blood red roses and terribly sharp thorns. They were shaped in such a way that
a person could get lost trying to make it through. “Of course.” This was
exactly what I expected of a magic-user, wizard or otherwise. I let the gate
close behind me and started into the maze.
* * *
I was exhausted, injured, and completely lost. At one
point, I got so frustrated that I tried to go through the hedge. That was a
mistake I would never make again. I was pretty sure I lost half my blood,
because as soon as the thorns tasted it, the hedges didn’t want to let me go. I
had to actually fight thorny vines that wrapped themselves around my arms and
waist.
Even worse was the fact that the sky was beginning to
darken. I worried that Bralyn and Merlin had already given up on me and
desperately wanted to call out to them. Only my fear that the hedges would
answer my call instead kept my mouth shut.
Several times, I felt, heard, or even saw something
move behind me, and the wind often sounded like it was carrying the
conspiracies of monsters. It occurred to me that I could use my wand to make
light, and
then
it occurred to me that I was a complete idiot. One of
the first spells I had ever learned was a guidance spell. I pulled my wand out
of my pocket, pushed magic into it, and told it to show me the way out. A
sphere of white magic burst from the tip of the wand and fluttered in the air
for a moment before disappearing in one direction. I chased after it.
I finally felt like I was getting somewhere, and
seriously thought I was just about out of the maze… when the bright ball of
light sank right through one of the hedges as if it was getting impatient.
Unfortunately, I was also impatient. This time, I put my wand away and focused
my magic into my staff.
The result was quite different. It was fire instead
of light that burst from my staff and the hedges around me instantly blazed
until it was nothing more than smoldering ashes on the ground. And I was
surrounded by four men.
“
I just discovered what was bothering me so much
about this place
,” Merlin suddenly said in my mind with a definite tone of
panic. “
Whatever you do, you must not use dark magic
!”
Too late
.
The four men had no weapons, but there was something
very dangerous about them. All of them were slender and dressed from head to
toe in black uniforms, which even covered up their faces and hair. The only
skin they showed was their eyes. The cloth of the uniform appeared to be thin;
even their boots conformed to their feet like gloves. Most odd was the white
patches on their chests. On one of them was a heart, on another was a diamond,
another had a spade, and the last had a club.
They took on a fighting stance. I wasn’t a warrior; I
had never been taught to fight. I was, however, a sorcerer; I had never been
taught to let that stop me. If I was going down, I wasn’t going to make it easy
for them. These weren’t small men who were just desperate to escape a curse.
As if some part of me needed to be sure, I let them
make the first move. All four of them made a fancy motion with their hands and
swords formed out of thin air. They were one-handed swords with curved, thin
blades that glowed red. These were sorcerers specifically trained to fight.
Pulling out my wand again, I let magic flow through
both my wand and staff. The magic once again combined into a cool blue light,
but then, to my shock, it split back into white and red. White magic, laced
with the magic of the staff, poured into me, dark magic, laced with the magic
of the wand, struck my opponents like lightning. I felt the defensive magic
protecting my flesh like the staff had done before, but the numb sensation was
so much deeper.
The dark magic was also going very deep into my
opponents. When they were all on the ground, moaning in pain, I actually felt
disappointed. “That’s it? You’re Magnus’s defense and you can be taken down by
a little lightning?”
Apparently, they didn’t like being taunted, because
they all sort of… floated back up onto their feet, as if they were pulled by
strings. It was creepy.
I struck again, only to immediately feel an
uncomfortable draw on my energy. It was much more potent magic than I was used
to, yet the men didn’t go down this time. Instead, the magic seemed to be
absorbed into their swords, which was about the worst thing that could have
happened.
One of them swung his sword at me. I moved almost
before I saw him and blocked the blow with my staff, then immediately regretted
it; the idea that his sword would hurt my staff made me sick. I needn’t have
worried, because the staff crackled with the same blue energy that was
protecting my skin.
I swung it upward, obviously catching him unaware, as
it struck him squarely across the jaw and sent him flying backwards. The
remaining three men attacked as one. The heart man and the diamond man used
their swords, but I waved my wand and energy swarmed around me, somehow slowing
their blades so that I could easily avoid them. At the same time, the man with
the club on his chest held his sword up into the air as if it were a staff and
violent red magic turned green. I had seen this exact curse before; the
sinister energy was a poison.
I tried to think of what I was supposed to do to
counteract it. I knew how to create it, but not how to defend against it. There
wasn’t enough time.
“Stop.” The woman’s voice was sudden and unexpected,
like a cup smashing on the ground. The poison dissolved and we all turned to
see who had interrupted our duel.
She could have been the embodiment of white magic.
Her long, golden blond hair was partially braided, partially loose and draped
over her shoulders, her blue eyes sparkled in the fading sunlight, and her long
white ropes dragged on the ground. She was slim, dainty, and not very tall, yet
her aura was strong.
I opened my mouth to speak, only to shut it when I
saw the necklace she wore. It was a multi-colored crystal with a silver object
in the center of it. I recognized it from a book I once read. I had no idea
what book, but I had definitely seen that crystal before.
She stood in the castle’s doorway, where roses clung
to the stone frame and emphasized her purity with their blood color. “Leave
us,” she said to the four men, who all bowed and then walked away. “Come in,
Ayden. I have waited a long time for your visit.”
I didn’t move. “I’m here to see Magnus. A great seer,
Dessa, told me that I would find the wizard here.”
She gave me an oddly familiar half smirk. “She told
you that what you seek is in the Island of Light. You may have thought you
wanted to defeat Magnus, but what you really wanted was a choice.”
“And you can give me a choice?”
“I can explain to you what your choices are.”
“Who are you?”
“I am Livia Dracre, the seventh daughter of Morina
Dracre.”
“Morina Dracre is my grandmother. You’re my aunt?!”
“I don’t understand,” I said. “Is this some kind of
disguise to fool wizards into thinking you’re one of them? This isn’t really
your home, is it?”
She studied me for a moment. “I was about your age
when I decided on my path, too. Let me guess, Ilvera wants to kill you?”
“How did you---”
“She can’t,” she interrupted.
We entered a small study with wall-to-wall,
floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. The fireplace, door, and window were the only
sections of the walls not covered in books. Two high-back, green suede chairs
sat facing each other in front of it with a small, low table between them. The
table was mostly made of glass with a sturdy-looking red wood frame. Livia
gestured to one of the chairs. I sat, but before sitting herself, she pulled a
white wand from inside her left sleeve and waved it at the table, where two
cups of tea appeared.
I gaped. “You’re really powerful.”
She slipped her wand back into her sleeve, sat down,
and took one of the cups. “We have different strengths. I can conjure anything,
but I have trouble breaking even the simplest curse. From what I’ve seen, it is
the other way around for you.”
“You’ve been watching me?”
“Of course. You are my nephew after all. I had to be
sure that my sister didn’t turn you onto a dark path.” She sat forward and ran
her fingers over the emblem on my robe. “She must be so furious.” Then she
touched my hair and I sat back so that she had to let go. “You should change
your hair back. This doesn’t suit you.”
“How did you see me?”
She retrieved her wand from her sleeve again and
motioned with it to the table. The glass surface changed into a mirror. I
squeaked.
“W-what… I mean… oh.”
“All I have to do is say a person’s name. Show me
Ilvera.”
A new shape took form in the mirror until I saw the
top of my mother’s cabin. Since I had seen it from the tree-tops, I recognized
it easily.
“I can’t actually see into her house because she has
more magic than my mirror, but I could track your progress after you left.” She
motioned with her wand again and the mirror changed back into a table.
“Why were you watching me?”
“You are special. You see, I was the seventh daughter
of the seventh daughter. Ilvera is my older sister; the sixth daughter. There
was no end to her fury when she discovered that her younger sister was more
powerful than her. She tried to kill me and take my power, but she never got
the chance. Like you, I had a choice.”
I laid my staff down on the table next to my
untouched cup of tea. “A choice between being a sorcerer or a wizard?”
“Not quite. We were born with very special magic,
which made us inherently neutral. It isn’t so much that we can choose one or
the other. It’s more like we are both. My mother was a devious woman who tried
very hard to rid me of all my kindness. I had just enough stubbornness to
survive childhood. I fought and cursed my sisters rather than innocent people.
Fortunately, my mother never knew the truth of what I was.
Unfortunately
,
Ilvera found books on it and figured out why I was so much more powerful than
her.
“When I was your age, my father took me to hide with
another family. They were sorcerers, but they were not like the Dracre. I
decided to be what I wanted to be. Ilvera hunted me down and tried to take my
magic, but by then, my magic was all light or neutral, and she didn’t want
that. So she took the seventh son, your father, and decided to breed the next
power source. She thought that if she had boys, you would be more malevolent.”
I gaped. “So she ridiculed me, tortured me, and
encouraged my brothers to do the same to make me become like them? That is the
most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. If anything, I’m the way I am because I
don’t want to be like my brothers. I want them to respect me, but I don’t want
to treat others the way they do. Does this mean I’m a wizard?”
“Whether you choose to use light magic or dark magic,
you will always have the choice. I never cared for the distinction between
wizards and sorcerers. Unlike a sorcerer or wizard, you have the choice every
single time. You chose to fight my guards. I chose to make my magic lighter by
living this way. If I were to live around other people, I would be tempted to
use both dark and light magic.”
“I… don’t understand.”
“I know. Ilvera would never have explained it to you.
The idea of being something between a wizard and sorcerer is against everything
you were ever taught.”
“
Ayden, are you okay
?” Merlin asked.
“
I don’t know
,” I responded without thinking.
There was silence for a moment. “
Where are you
?”
“Where is Merlin?” I asked Livia.
“He and the warrior are being kept in another room. I
knew you came here thinking that this was Magnus’s home, but since I am not a
seer, I didn’t know what you would do when you discovered who I was. Both of
your companions are safe.”
“Let them go.”
“Soon. We have much more to discuss. Particularly
what to do about your brothers.”
“What about them?”
“Sorcerers are important for the continuation of all
magic on Caldaca, but your brothers are starting to become too destructive.
Dessa warned me of what would happen if they are left unchecked. They would not
stop at destroying Magnus. When they reach his castle, they will face a
monstrous beast they could not be prepared for. If they fight it, it will kill
Thaddeus, and your other brothers will take it out on all wizards.”
I bet it’s a dragon
.
I’m going to be so mad
if they try to hurt a poor dragon.
“None of my brothers can be taken out by
a mere monster.”
“That is what they believe as well. If you cannot
stop them, war will break out between sorcerers and wizards.”
“That’s nothing new. There have been dozens of wars
between them.”
“Not like this. This war will take the lives of the
most powerful magic-users on this world and eventually lead to the complete
loss of magic for a hundred years.”
“Impossible,” I argued. She just sipped her tea. “I’m
not going to kill my brothers.”
“You must.”
“You just said I had the choice between light and
dark magic.”
“You do, but here you only have the choice between a
bad situation and a worse one. You must fight your brothers. If you face
Magnus, there will be no one to stop them. I cannot tell you anything else, or
I risk ruining everything. Come back to me after everything settles and I will
teach you both light and dark magic. I wish I could help you.”
“I can’t beat my brothers. For one thing, there’re
six of them. For another, they know my weaknesses. If I defeat Magnus before
them, that means I’m better than them. You can help me by telling me how to
find him.”
“I cannot. I chose my path many years ago and now it
is your turn.” She retrieved her wand again and waved it at my staff. White
magic flowed from her wand to the crystal. “Your staff will now show you the
way. I can transport you to the nearest land, but it is impossible to transport
you to Magnus himself.”
“But you
just
said you wouldn’t help me.”
“I am helping you find Magnus because your brothers
are going after him. The only way for you to defeat them is to get ahead of
them.”
“Is it far? And how close to him are my brothers?”
“Your journey is as long as you make it. Your
brothers are having a difficult time finding Magnus, but they’re starting to
use their heads.”
“Wow. I bet it’ll break something if they actually
come up with a plan.”
She grinned. “I guess that is another thing we have
in common. Ilvera was my only sister who knew how to read. The rest of them
were not intelligent enough to figure out why I was so powerful.”
“So, Dessa sent me here to learn why I have white
magic, but how does that help me? I’m still not going to be accepted by
sorcerers or wizards.”
“People will accept you when you accept yourself.
Since you left home, how many people turned you away because you were not a
cruel sorcerer or a selfless wizard?”
I shrugged. “Well, I lied to the elves by letting
them think I’m a wizard. My family will never accept me unless I can get rid of
the white magic.”
She put her hand over her face with frustration.
“Your family will never accept you no matter what you do. Acceptance is not in
them. The only way you can be happy is to be yourself. Even then, you will have
difficult decisions to make and you will have to do things that you hate, but
you cannot be happy living as a sorcerer or wizard.”
I stood. “You can’t know that. You’re using white
magic without dark magic.”
“That’s because I made a mistake. I didn’t have
anyone to tell me what my choice was. I chose to lock away my darkness. I
shouldn’t have.”
I sat back down. “What do you mean? You look
perfectly happy.”
“It’s why I’m here alone.” She rubbed the crystal
pendant. “I was married long before you were born. My husband was a traveler,
who had seen many worlds and never judged me on what I was. When our daughter
was born, I knew she wasn’t like us. Veronica even looked like the rest of the
Dracre family; black hair, pale skin… but she had my blue eyes.
“She had only dark magic from the moment she was
born. I thought I could teach her to be good. Even before she learned magic,
she started torturing and slaughtering animals. When she was ten, she tried to
kill me, so her father took her to another world.
“Out of shame, I locked away my darkness. Eventually,
I fell in love with a very kind wizard and had another daughter, named Sonya.
She had blond hair, blue eyes, and only goodness inside her. She only had light
magic. Unfortunately, Veronica made it back to this world a few years later and
learned about Sonya.”
“What about Veronica’s father?”
“I never saw him again. I think she killed him.”
“I tried to find her and help her, but she wanted me
dead. She had some strange ability to communicate with animals and even enchant
them into following her orders. She killed Sonya.”
“How did you defeat her?”
“I didn’t. How could I harm my own child? I sent
Veronica to a world where she couldn’t use magic. After that, Sonya’s father
and I couldn’t be together. We’re still friends, though.”
“I still don’t understand.”
“You and I were not meant to have only dark or only
light magic.”
“So no matter what I do, I’ll never fit in. Maybe…
what if I lock my light magic away like you did your dark magic?” I asked.
She groaned. “You have your mother’s stubbornness. It
might be possible, but the consequences will be horrible, and I will not be a
part of it. You would lose everything you have now, including your friends.”
“Where is Merlin?”
“I will let him go, just as long as you agree to
defeat your brothers.”
I stood up in anger. “You’re holding him captive?!”
“Doesn’t he mean more to you than your brothers?”
“That isn’t even the issue right now! You said you
only do light magic, yet you would capture someone to make me help you! I’m
definitely not going to fight my brothers now!”
“I wish you would reconsider. I’m sorry about this.”
She made a dismissive gesture with her hands and two of the four men from the
garden appeared behind me. Before I could do anything, each of them took one of
my arms and started dragging me towards the door.
No matter how much I struggled to break their grasps,
the men were too strong.
“Stop,” she said. They stopped, but they didn’t let
me go. “Sorry, but I can’t have you escaping.” She snapped her fingers and my
wand shot out of my pocket into her hand.
“Give that back!” I yelled. I was ignored, though,
and the men dragged me out into the hallway. As we passed many different rooms,
I looked for Merlin, but I didn’t see any sign of him. When we reached the end
of a dim hallway, a third man appeared right in front of us. The outfits that
hid their faces were creepy enough without jump-scares. I realized that he had
a club on his clothes, as did one of the men restraining me, which meant there
were more than four of these people. “Please let me go.” They didn’t say a
word.
The man in front of us paused for dramatic effect
before opening the door. I gaped. If this was what Livia thought of as a prison
cell, I was okay with being captured for a while. The bed was wide enough for
me to lie sideways on it and covered with richly colored blue blankets and
pillows. There was a rosewood wardrobe to the left of the bed with gold
accents. A small table to the right of the bed held a three-candle candelabrum.
Across from the bed, there was a window with its
shutters closed and a bookshelf full of books. As soon as the masked men let me
go, I went to the window and tried it. I was disappointed, but not surprised,
to find it was sealed. Since there was no latch and the wooden frame was oddly
warm, I figured it was locked by magic. All three men were gone by the time I
turned around. I tried the door, but it was also locked.
“
Merlin
?” I asked, trying to speak in his mind
again. Either he didn’t hear me or he wasn’t capable of answering. Unable to
figure out another way out, I went to the bookshelf to see what I had to work
with. There were a few old fairytale books, some history books, diaries,
grimoires, and such, as well as a fair number of books written in foreign languages.
I grabbed a couple of the history books and put them in my bag for Merlin.